Steelers' Lose Another Quarterback; Is Plax Back?

...and then there was one.

The hits just keep on coming for the NFL team that could fill an episode of The Walking Dead with players from its roster.

CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reported Monday that the Pittsburgh Steelers are concerned that Byron Leftwich may be "out for a while" because of rib and shoulder injuries he suffered in Sunday night's 13-10 loss to Baltimore Ravens.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that second-string quarterback Byron Leftwich sustained fractured ribs.

That means that Uncle Charlie Batch will get up off of his rocking chair, make sure his Medicare coverage is up-to-date and start at quarterback Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. - http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh-steelers/f/1511a2e8-edad-4d02-b223-e12d06ff362d/?source=twitter

However, as Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly said: "I guarantee that no team in the NFL has a quality third-string backup like the Steelers do with Charlie Batch." Can he right the ship? - http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8653390&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The Steelers are expected to work out quarterbacks this week, according to La Canfora, as Uncle Charlie is the only quarterback left currently on the roster. - http://tinyurl.com/dxmdmjk

Names thrown around have been Brian Hoyer, Tyler Palko, Jerrod Johnson, Mike Kafka and, by LaMarr Woodley only, Donovan McNabb. - http://tinyurl.com/d6tpadd

Leftwich was hurt on the first series of the game Sunday night when he scored the touchdown on a 31-yard run, and he could be headed to the injured reserve list (IR) if it is deemed a 3-4 week injury as has been suggested.

If that happens, it will have been the third time in five years that his season would be ended by injury and it's time to seriously start questioning his actual value. Yes, he's a good veteran backup, but he's made of more glass than Brock Lesnar's chin.

A roll into the end zone resulted in adversely affected play. He was obviously hurt, but wasn't pulled because of what Tomlin called a "gritty" (not "great", as some have transcribed) effort. In that gritty effort, according to ESPN Stats & Information, however, Leftwich completed just 5 of 16 passes that were thrown longer than 10 yards downfield. Four incompletions of which were underthrown and three were overthrown.

His ineffectiveness was a major component in the Steelers loss. Now, not only do the Steelers have to look for a backup, and possibly third-strong, quarterback, but for a wide receiver as well.

It sounds like Jerricho Cotchery is likely to miss some time, because ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the Steelers will take a shot in the dark (pun intended) at former Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Plax is being brought in for a physical and, if he passes, is expected to sign.

Per Schefter: "Feeling always has been that the Steelers wouldn't bring WR Plaxico Burress to Pittsburgh if the team didn't intend to sign him." Is it the right move? - http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/59449/steelers-make-right-move-to-bring-in-burress

Steelers need roster spots, so expect a busy transaction list on Tuesday. There will be more athletes going in and out the Steelers doors than at a Kardashian's house.

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TIDBITS: ESPN reported Sunday morning that Steelers doctors believe starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will miss three weeks with his ribs and shoulder injuries, although the team hasn't given up hope that he could sit out just two games.

The team, though, still holds out hope that he could sit for just two games. If so, Big Ben could suit up against the Baltimore Ravens when the teams meet again in Week 13.

Dr. Clark Fuller, the director of Thoracic Surgery at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, told Sports Illustrated's Peter King that a premature return would put Big Ben at risk of nerve damage along with previously reported threats to the aorta. - http://tinyurl.com/dyzpy5e

If that is the case and Big Ben risks nerve damage, why is he even on the field and not in bed, or at least out of harm's way, in the first place? Ask Sean Payton what can happen on an NFL sideline. As my partner-in-crime would say, I'm just sayin...

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Quick bios on the leading candidates: Brian Hoyer in three years with the New England Patriots was 27 of 43 for 286 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Mike Kafka spent his two seasons in the league with the Philadelphia Eagles, but only saw playing time last season and completed 11 of 16 passes for 107 yards with two interceptions. - http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/20/report-steelers-to-workout-brian-hoyer-mike-kafka/

Mike Florio Gets It Wrong In Vilifying Steelers Coach Tomlin

As I quietly perused the news feeds and timelines of Facebook and Twitter I came across a tweet by a friend of mine by the name of Amanda. A woman who is as intelligent as she is lovely, Amanda has no problem expressing her opinion. So when I read “@pghsteelersgrl: Mike Florio is a fu**ing idiot", I figured that I must have missed something.

I redoubled my efforts and found that Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk had taken Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to task for things he said during his William & Mary Hall of Fame induction speech. Tomlin started at wide receiver at W&M for three years.

The taking of Tomlin to task isn't necessarily a problem. Taking his words out of context is.

In an article entitled "Tomlin is a “win-at-all-costs” guy" Florio wrote, "Per Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback...Tomlin gave a rather eye-opening glimpse into his mindset." By this alone one can assume that Florio possibly didn't delve any deeper than quotes mentioned therein...which gives also gives a bit of a glimpse into his own mindset.

He goes on to take pieces of the speech as piecemeal to make a patchwork article. But as with most patchwork material, it doesn't hold together very well. What Florio fails to realize, based on not doing the necessary research, is that Tomlin is speaking with his tongue somewhat in his cheek. Tomlin is disarmingly charming and charismatic and he's simply keeping all of this light and is joking with the crowd. But why should I expect a news source to do actual research? What was I thinking?

Florio next wrote, "One of the reasons I work in the National Football League — I’m tired of the NCAA rules." To that he replied, "It’s also clear that he’s tired of the NFL rules. Every gripe and complaint and piss and moan from Steelers players regarding the league’s rules for hitting offensive players naturally traces to...Tomlin. Last year, for example, safety Ryan Clark was celebrated in the film room for a hit that got him fined $40,000 by the league office."

The so-called "celebration" of a fined hit should be more accurately referenced as a teaching point to the team as it happened before the fine was handed down. Yes, it was flagged, but check the film: Clark leads with the shoulder and hits the receiver, the Ravens' Ed Dickson, just after the ball is caught and Dickson has had both feet to come down to the ground. He was not "defenseless." Was it helmet-to-helmet? The easy answer is that it was, but the helmet contact was minimal at best. Realistically, it is impossible to completely avoid at least some helmet contact when highly-conditioned athletes are going at full speed. The Steelers as a whole were disappointed with the fine and supported Clark.

Getting back to the specific matter at hand, Florio sums up the article by writing, "As the NFL tries to make the game safer, Tomlin needs to realize that his “win-at-all-costs” mindset needs to be tempered by a genuine respect for whatever rules may apply."

Very noble...if not very misguided.

You be the judge, though. I'm posting the parts of the speech in question, and the YouTube link below. And after you do so, go follow Amanda on Twitter via @pghsteelersgrl.
TOMLIN: "We’ve got our chief financial officer in the building from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Where is my man Mark Hart? Is he in the building? Hart? He exited stage left. (laughter from crowd) His son, Kevin, is in the next incoming class of football players at William & Mary. And I'm proud to say that hopefully I had a part in that and I didn’t break any rules in the process. (laughter) Um...I think. (laughter) That's one of the reasons that I work in the National Football League, I'm tired of the NCAA rules. I'm a win-at-all-costs kind of a guy. The NFL is just right for me. Although, I’m not a bounty guy in any form or fashion. (laughter) Any form or fashion. (laughter) What you’ve got to understand about the Pittsburgh Steelers is that they'll get you for nothing. I ain’t gotta offer them anything. Guys like James Harrison and company, they enjoy it. Nah...I love the group of men that I work with...."

2012 Tribe Athletics Hall of Fame: Mike Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOvXdU2drtY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

To Peter King: For your obituary.

Dear Peter King,
   I'd like to start this, you blubbery bag of protoplasm, by ackowledging two things you did that no one else had the insight or foresight to do: you rightfully put DE Aaron Smith, whom we call "the unsung hero", on your All-Decade Team, and you predicted before the season that the Steelers would go to the Super Bowl. Thank you....
    Now that that's out of the way, let me address, you disgusting gelatinous mass, your recent 'Top 100 NFL Players' list in which you ranked 2-time SuperBowl winner and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Troy Polamalu at number 50. 50? 50! 50?!? We're talking the NFLs best players here,  not your pants size. Or your I.Q. Or your SAT scores. We're talking the best players in the game and you rank Troy Polamalu at #50? If you truly believe that Troy is only the 50th best player in the league, then you probably are also gullable enough to have had your bags packed this past May 21st. I can't reconcile how you could even form the thought process needed to suggest such a ranking. Then you go and put Ed Reed at #54? Look, I'd retract that one if I were you because the Ravens' team is full of criminals. Don't wind up a statistic. I'm just sayin. Anyway, you're full of hot air if you truly believe these rankings. The reigning DPOY at #50? Releasing all that hot air when you opened your mouth to say something as asinine and egregious as that is probably why there have been so many tornados across the midwest! So please don't say anything else because the Gulf Coast is entering Hurricane season and we neither need further disasters nor Kanye West to say anything again. Ever.
    I'll do this for you, we all know the pros associated with Troy, so I'll present the cons: Troy has missed 21 games in his career due to injury. That's it! That's the list! Now let me tell you why even that  is a reason to rank him higher and is a measure of his worth. Since Troy became a starter in 2004 he's missed 21 games as was stated. In those games the Steelers were 12-9, a .571 percentage. In the other 104 reg season games he's started since then, the Steelers are 75-29, a .721 percentage. Following me? I don't wanna interrupt any afternoon snack which was probably dessert to a mid-morning snack, you oleaginous sack of lard. As I was saying, though, since he became a starter and including playoffs, the Steelers defense averages 0.57 INTs a game without him. With him the defense averages 1.02 INTs-almost twice as much. To give that stat more of a face, let's look at it this way: in the same timeframe, (125 total games incl. playoffs) the Steelers defense has recorded 118 INTs. A quarter of those...damn, I just made your super-size-me butt think of Quarter Pounders. Let me rephrase: 25% of those 118 INTs were by Mr. Polamalu himself. Let that sink in for a minute...and wipe your chin. Again, 30 of the 118 total interceptions since 2004 were by Troy himself.
    Another quantifier of Troy's greatness is his splash plays. Not the kind of splash plays made by Mr. James Harrison where, when he hits you, your blood splashes and splatters on the ground, (by the way, another piece of advice, for your sake and safety, please do NOT disrespect Mr. Silverback - trust me, call him "Mr." - by ranking him too low also. Mr. King, don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.) but the plays he makes just at the right time, just when we need them. Plays where all of a sudden you look around and all you see is his hair flying in the wind like a cape as he runs the other way with the ball. Wait a minute...is that it, Peter? Are you jealous because Troy's hair is far more luxurient than yours? Oh...Peter. That's so sad. I'm so disappointed. *wipes tear away* Allowing personal bias to taint your rankings? You're better than that. *sigh* I need a minute to compose myself. Nonetheless, those types of plays just may define and quantify Troy best. I'll be back, I just need a moment...
    Peter, I truly hope you've seen how badly you erred. While I agree that Troy's ranking should have a "5" in it, I don't agree that there should be a 0 or any other number behind it or in front of it. By the way, just in case you were wondering why I entitled this the way I did, it wasn't a reference to the Raven's putting one of their infamous bounties out on you, nor was it a warning regarding Mr. James Harrison, but a description of your career from this point on. Because such a bombastically absurd ranking is sure to derail your career as epically as when Joel Schumacher took over the Batman franchise. "Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."